Saltareli Accessories

Everything named "Saltareli" is made by Lina Bitkeviciute. My commitment to "reuse" consumer waste started from a sense of social responsibility. The issue of sustainability and care for the environment is extremely essential for me.
Firstly, this topic is environmentally significant worldwide at the present. Secondly, my professional conscience encouraged me to focus on this subject. I feel a personal responsibility for the state of nature.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Cork is a symbol
of Portuguese identity. The identity aspects are mainly related with the cultural meaning of
Cork material for Portugal, particularly important in the Cultural and
Socio-Economic context of Portugal.Portugal
is the leading world cork exporter and is pioneer in designing everyday
implements using cork material. According
to the APCOR,Cork oak has a high economic and social importance
in Portugal: Cork Oak and forest originate 12 thousand direct job posts in the
industry, 6500 job in forest exploitation and, indirectly, thousands of
employment positions related to other Cork Oak forest products (livestock
farming, restaurants, tourism, etc.), contributing to 2,3% of the total annual
national export and 30% of the combined Portuguese forestry exportations.[1]

In addition to benefiting Portugal is transforming a natural raw
material, extracted cyclically from the trees without harming them, promoting
the economic and social sustainability of areas at risk of desertification,
making available high value added products that maintain the unique and
intrinsic characteristics of cork, in an integrated transformation process that
practically does not produce waste.

The identity aspects are mainly related with
the cultural meaning of Cork material for Portugal, particularly important in
the Cultural and Socio-Economic context of Portugal. The huge tradition of this
material in Portugal, related either with the availability in nature either
with the quantity and quality of Cork Products from Portugal, are particularity
connect with the production of cork for wine bottles. However, there is an
enormous space for the development of new innovative products.

The Project field research started with the selection of the place in
which the work should take place. The recognition of the Local Context, at
different levels: Social and Human, Cultural and Environmental were the
starting point of this research. These findings were relevant to understand how
the future activities could be integrated in the different referred levels.

The selected place- abandoned space of Av. Dr. Francisco Sá Carneiro and
R. da Ranha street junction (Gondomar, Portugal), because it is near the metro,
the church, clinic, a passing train and other higher traffic public places
because I wanted that “Wall with soul” be well seen.

Project is about how cork for wine bottles can be a piece of art in
unexpected way. So my intention was to collect as many wine bottles corks as
possible. It took me long time, to collect the desired amount of corks, but I
was able to that. In the final “Wall with soul” visualization I glued to the
wall 3141 wine cork.

The outcomes of the “Wall with soul” project were attracting more
attention than even expected. “Wall of souls” made of corks reach a lot of
people and not only time when I was making actual work but also get a big
respond from people who checked my personal blog: http://saltareli.blogspot.com. My corks wall
worked for sustainability because learned that vine cork can be recycled
creative in a promising potential.

The approach of the project was interacting between people and artist by
means of it exchanging knowledge. At the beginning of the projects there was a
wide range of objectives related to reflection of opinions response. At the end
of the project it was concluded the social, human and cultural aspects have
been taken more or less thoroughly taken into account for art. In that sense
the project can be concluded as successful.

My name is Lina Bitkeviciute and I am a creator . Everything named "Saltareli" is hand made by me.

A little background: I've lived and I graduated in Art (Design) in Siauliai (Lithuania) and I recently completed a Master's Degreein Image Design in the university of Porto (Portugal). I love to travel, dance and meet new people...

My commitment to "reuse" consumer waste started from a
sense of social responsibility. The issue of sustainability and care for the
environment is extremely essential for me.

Firstly, this topic is environmentally significant worldwide at the
present. Secondly, my professional conscience encouraged me to focus on this
subject. It feels contradictory that plastic bottles are meant to be friendlier
to the nature yet can actually harm it if it is not recycled. I feel a personal responsibility for the state of nature and I
would like to be involved in preserving our environment.